Egypt Acquits 3 Ministers Of Corruption Charges

Three ministers of the ousted regime of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak were acquitted of squandering public funds, AFP reported.

The public prosecutor said after the verdicts were announced that the prosecution would file an appeal. The acquittals “do not correspond with evidence presented during the trials,” his office quoted him as saying, according to the AFP report.

A fourth minister, Rashid Mohammed Rashid, was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison in a separate case. Rashid, who has an international arrest warrant against him, was already sentenced to five years for embezzlement, AFP reported.

The ministers acquitted include former Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali, who was sentenced in absentia to 30 years in prison in another case.

Rooting out corruption at the top of the Mubarak regime was a high-priority demand for the protesters that led to his ouster. Mubarak and two of his sons await graft charges while several ministers face rapid trials that have had mixed results.

Comments (2 of 2)

It has culminated in revived protests and calls for the downfall of heads of the Army. A post-Mubarak authoritarian govt is not meant to be. Shraif Abdel Koddous in Tahrir Sq right now tweeting live @SharifKouddous covering the massive protests happening today. He filed in this report for Democracy Now! : http://www.democracynow.org/tags/egypt
"there is a sense the revolution is being stolen from beneath people's feet here."

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